Some basic facts about an addictive killer

Tobacco use kills nearly half a million Americans each year, with one in every six U.S. deaths the result of smoking. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and compromising smokers’ health in general. Nicotine, a component of tobacco, is the primary reason that tobacco is addictive, although cigarette smoke contains many other dangerous chemicals, including tar, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, nitrosamines, and more. At the end of the day, quitting smoking is mainly about
overcoming and eliminating..

Recent medical advancements and research accomplishments

An improved overall understanding of addiction and of nicotine as an addictive drug has been instrumental in developing medications and behavioral treatments for tobacco addiction. For example, the nicotine patch and gum, now readily available at drugstores and supermarkets nationwide, have proven effective for smoking cessation when combined with behavioral therapy.
Advanced neuroimaging technologies further assist this mission by allowing researchers to observe changes in brain function that result from smoking tobacco. Researchers have also identified new roles for genes that predispose people to tobacco addiction and predict their response to smoking cessation treatments. These findings and many other recent research accomplishments are affording us unique opportunities to discover, develop, and disseminate new treatments for tobacco addiction, as well as scientifically based prevention programs to help curtail the public health burden that tobacco use represents.